No babies for cross-eyed opossum Heidi, zoo says
Germany’s beloved cross-eyed opossum Heidi will have to do without romance for the time being, the Leipzig Zoo said Friday. There are no plans to breed the furry marsupial just yet. While the eastern German zoo does have a male opossum called Teddy, he is currently housed separately from Heidi and her sister Naira.
“Generally zoos keep animals in order to breed them,” said Leipzig Zoo spokeswoman Maria Saegebarth. “But in this situation there are no such plans.”
With no babies on the way and her recent international television appearance behind her, life has settled down for Heidi, the zoo said.
But she does have a new home to look forward to – the zoo is working on a large new tropical habitat.
“Heidi’s new home is growing,” Saegebarth said.
Click here for a Heidi photo gallery.
The zoo also recently put the opossum on a strict diet, through which she has reportedly lost almost half a kilo. Heidi, believed to be almost three-years-old, was overweight when she was abandoned with Naira outside an animal shelter in North Carolina.
She has been living at Leipzig Zoo since May last year after being transferred from a Danish zoo.
The zoo believes her eye condition might have been caused by her diet before she was abandoned, or by the fact that she is overweight and has fat deposits behind her eyes.
In late February, Heidi attempted to fill sports oracle Paul The Octopus’ shoes, giving tips for the Academy Awards on US late-night television show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Her predictions were spotty. While she correctly tipped the winners for the Best Actor and Actress, she got the Best Film award wrong.
DPA/The Local/ka
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While the eastern German zoo does have a male opossum called Teddy, he is currently housed separately from Heidi and her sister Naira.
“Generally zoos keep animals in order to breed them,” said Leipzig Zoo spokeswoman Maria Saegebarth. “But in this situation there are no such plans.”
With no babies on the way and her recent international television appearance behind her, life has settled down for Heidi, the zoo said.
But she does have a new home to look forward to – the zoo is working on a large new tropical habitat.
“Heidi’s new home is growing,” Saegebarth said.
Click here for a Heidi photo gallery.
The zoo also recently put the opossum on a strict diet, through which she has reportedly lost almost half a kilo. Heidi, believed to be almost three-years-old, was overweight when she was abandoned with Naira outside an animal shelter in North Carolina.
She has been living at Leipzig Zoo since May last year after being transferred from a Danish zoo.
The zoo believes her eye condition might have been caused by her diet before she was abandoned, or by the fact that she is overweight and has fat deposits behind her eyes.
In late February, Heidi attempted to fill sports oracle Paul The Octopus’ shoes, giving tips for the Academy Awards on US late-night television show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Her predictions were spotty. While she correctly tipped the winners for the Best Actor and Actress, she got the Best Film award wrong.
DPA/The Local/ka
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